If the Defense Department doesn’t get its overhead “in shape,” it will not have any resources for force structure and modernization, said Daniel Ginsberg, assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs. That’s why Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has tapped former Air Force Secretary Michael Donley to serve as an “independent enforcer” tasked with ensuring those cuts occur, Ginsberg told the audience at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference in National Harbor, Md., on Monday. “If we don’t get some of the infrastructure and personnel cuts, we’re going to see fewer aircraft and modernization programs and have a harder time working in that contested environment where we’re seeing very advanced technology,” he said. That means DOD is going to have to “go through some very tough [budget] drills” to make sure it is operating as efficiently as possible and that there is no additional waste, said Ginsberg. He made the comments during the session with Air Force Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. James Jackson.
A U.S. F-35C shot down an Iranian drone operating near the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier Feb. 3 in a dramatic incident that American military officials cautioned could lead to conflict amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S.
